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On another forum, two people stated how rude they thought it was for the person in front of them to recline their seat (this was in coach seating). The guy referred to the person in front of him as a 'yahoo' for reclining. I have travelled a lot, and I always found it more comfortable to recline, and never realized this might be an issue. After all, the seats are made to recline for a reason, Should I have to sit straight up for long periods of time because some tall person in back of me doesn't like me to recline? After all, he has the option to recline, also, right, and I'm betting he does. This no reclining attitude just doesn't seem right to me, but I'm interested in what others think.

Depends, if it's a night flight and people are sleeping then it's OK. But it's definitely not OK to keep it in recline throughout the flight. Yes, it's more comfortable for you but not for the poor passenger behind. Don't be so selfish, try thinking of others. The reason for recline is to sleep, nothing else. The legroom is never adequate in coach and there's nothing worse than losing another couple of inches. People who do this deserve to have the back of their seats kicked.

Have you ever tried to eat a meal when some idiot in front of you has reclined their seat? I agree with the previous poster; recline is only for sleeping on night flights. Some thoughtless people think that they have a right to keep their seat reclined throughout the trip. On some flights I have had to politely request that the person puts their seat upright; some do, but once or twice I have had verbal abuse. I think it should be compulsory at mealtimes to keep seat upright, an I believe some airlines (Air France?) enforce this, and quite rightly too. Perhaps you will now realize that it can be an issue, and think about your fellow passengers too.

Wow, I am a bit surprised at some of the responses here. In my experience, and I have flown quite a bit, a majority of people tend to recline their seats during a flight. Not necessarily during meal times, as that would make it difficult for them to eat as well, but during any long portions of the flight that are not meal times, regardless of time of day. Certainly no one should be called a "yahoo" for doing so.

I recline on short and long flights. All planes except maybe small puddle jumpers recline and are built that way for a reason. If they were just for sleeping then they can tell me that. The only time you are not allowed to recline is during takeoff and landing, if you were only allowed to use if to sleep on long flights then they can announce that to the passengers. I am much more comfortable reclining than stitting up straight, if I sit up completely straight during a flight I usually end up with a backache later. The airlines are cutting more and more "extras" and this is one of the few things that have not been taken away from us.

No its not a European thing. Its called etiquette. And nobody actually said you deserved to be kicked, or that you are rude. There is a reason why some airlines insist on upright position for meals by the way.

I have flown all over the US, Mexico, Asia and The Caribbean, and and have never been asked by any airline to put up my seat during the meal. It is not announced on airlines I fly on, and it's not written anywhere on the flight literature. So maybe it is a European airline thing. Now that I've read the repsonses, I will certainly put my seat up during meals.

I hardly ever recline... 2 reasons: The person behind me loses leg room, I wouldn't wish that on anyone in economy class (coach), and, if they are fitted, the little seatback LCD screens also become almost impossible to view because of the change of angle.

It ruins the flight for me when the person in front has their seat permanently reclined, so I don't do it myself (unless the person behind is annoying me).

It's not about being european or american or anything else for that matter, it's just awareness of others.

I have less problems with whether people in front of me do or do not recline, and more with their method of doing so. People who slam their seat back without thought don't do a great deal for my blood pressure (or my clothing for that matter when a drink spills). I don't find a reclined seat impacts on my leg room, due to the fact that as my legs are on the bottom of my torso, they are under the reclined seat. I do wish, however, that on flights that serve meals (getting fewer and further between) that an annoucement could be made along the lines of "as a courtesy to passengers dining, please place your seat in the upright position". How hard would that be?